Thinking that a range estimate of 30 miles meant close to 30 miles, Jon Linkov left home with a kid to drop off at daycare and a commute to the office.
17 miles later, he was in turtle mode.
About 17 miles from startup, the potential range indicator had become three blinking dashes. I realized I was not going to make it to work, and decided to get off the highway. As I exited the Leaf entered "Turtle" mode, complete with a small, green turtle indicator light. I proceeded to limp the next 1.3 miles into town. The final humiliation came when a highway department mower passed me.
I can hear the true believers yelling at me already, since I didn't charge the car overnight. The thing is, we're charging all the plug-in cars at our facility, on 220-volt chargers that can log exactly how much just our cars are using. Planning a 46-mile round trip when the car suggested I had 60 miles available didn't seem too much to ask.
Range anxiety isn't a bugbear invented by the oil lobby. It's real. And Nissan really needs to refine their range estimation algorithm, because this is the sort of thing that fuels consumer backlash.
4 comments:
The best thing I've read today!
I hope this gets a fair amount of press, because those who don't think range anxiety is real deserve to discover turtle mode (awesome term, btw).
Off topic, was hoping you might be able to help. I invented a wheel for an automobile that allows it drive in any direction without changing the orientation of the vehicle. It is simple in design, affordable to manufacture, and can be applied to anything that moves. My question is this, how do i contact an automaker directly, or someone with influence? a link to my patent is attatched. The drawings are illustrative only and not restrictive in any way. Respectfully, william. Email is sidedrive@live.com
http://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/patent/2689706/summary.html?type=number_search
Hello
Consumer Reports bought a Leaf.Thinking that a range estimate of 30 miles meant close to 30 miles, Jon Linkov left home with a kid to drop off at daycare and a commute to the office. 17 miles later, he was in turtle mode. About 17 miles from startup.
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Johnmiller
Auto Sales
Totally True!
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